Three Finger Cove: The Twins ~ Book Four
Chapter Seventy
The excitement of watching the Sheriff's Deputies capture Matthew's mom and boyfriend hadn't waned overnight in the three Cover lads who watched it. They continued to talk about it at breakfast and they couldn't wait to get to school. They wanted to tell all their friends what they saw. Mr. Ken inwardly smiled at his boys and their enthusiasm. This definitely was something a young lad would love to have seen and then tell everyone what he knew. The owner of The Cove just hoped their enthusiasm would remain with them while in class.
Mr. Ken reminded the boys to wear a jacket as the mornings were getting cooler and cooler every day. He also asked them to consider wearing a hat, but the boys scoffed at the idea. Kevin helped his twin with his jacket and his books and the four Cover lads headed up to catch the School Bus.
Momma Maria doesn't usually ask Mr. Ken about what they talked about at breakfast, but that morning she was intrigued by what the boys were all talking about. So, she asked her boss what all the commotion was about. When Mr. Ken told her she smiled at now understanding what the banter back-and-forth was all about. She thanked her boss for telling her, and then she went back to cleaning up the Kitchen Nook.
Seeing it was still early, and he hadn't seen anything in the morning newspaper about any raids the previous night, Mr. Ken decided to get cleaned up for the day, so he headed back to his en suite. The man shaved and then took his shower. He then dressed for the day.
It was about the arrest of Matthew's mom and boyfriend that Dan called his friend, Ken. The Sheriff's Lieutenant thanked Ken for his help in capturing Matthew's mom and boyfriend. Dan told Ken they did find a loaded gun in the vehicle and the car was presently in the garage undergoing an exhaustive forensics inspection to see what else might be hidden in it. Ken told Dan, that he mentioned to Matthew, that his department would probably talk to him some more about his mom and her boyfriend, to see if he remembered anything else about what the three of them did all summer.
Dan said he would stop by and visit with the youngster, and eventually, he'd bring their talk around to those two people. Dan told his friend, that Matthew lit up when he walked into the room the other day, and his smile was infectious. Ken teased him and asked him if he was ready to be a foster parent. Dan just laughed at the notion.
Mr. Chris stopped by his boss' Study to tell him he was on his way to pick up the new 12-passenger Mercedes Van and was taking the Lincoln Navigator and a Cashier's Check for the agreed-upon total price with him. He told Mr. Ken that he'd probably be gone until well after lunch because buying any vehicle, even with everything set in place, was a long drawn out process. Mr. Ken laughed and told Chris he was happy it was him going over there to do all that.
At school, as soon as the twins got off their school bus, they headed for all their friends and began telling them all about what they saw the night before. Some of their friends didn't believe them, but all Kyle would say was it was their loss, and he continued to tell what they saw.
Their classmates who wanted to hear the tale, stuck around. The boys continued and started to explain they were at the hospital visiting a boy who was found alone at Four Corners on Sunday. Just saying that much had their fellow students stopping them and asking who the boy was and why was he there. The twins stopped their story and explained what they knew about those two questions.
Continuing their story, the identical boys told how Mr. Ken came and had them move out of the pediatric ward and over to a visitor's lounge. But, that was as far as they got as their classmates asked why Mr. Ken moved them and how did he know to do that. The twins looked to one another and after a few seconds of'twin talk' told the students how their'dad' had worked with Lt. Dan to find pictures on the security cameras at the miniature golf course and go-kart track. Just saying that much more, had those youngsters listening ask even more questions.
Kevin got exasperated by all the questions and said, "Let us tell what we saw and then ask us your questions. That way you know the full story and don't miss out on hearing the story as it unfolded. Starting and stopping over and over loses the continuity of the story. So, please ... wait until Kyle is finished."
Kyle took a big breath and started to tell his story from the beginning. He'd gotten to the part where Mr. Ken came to move them when the first bell rang. The kids, wanting to hear what the twins saw the previous night moaned they had to go to their homeroom. They knew they would have to wait to hear the rest of what happened at lunchtime.
When Charles got off the school bus, he went to his friends and told them all about the police stopping a vehicle and pointing their guns at the two people inside. He then told them three more police cars arrived, and they too had their guns drawn on the couple. Charles told all his buddies that he watched as the people were being handcuffed and then searched.
Richard asked him where he was when he saw all that and Charles told him about going over to the hospital to visit with Matthew, the lad they found at Fours Corner on Sunday night.
Hearing for the first time the Covers found a boy at Four Corners, Charles' friends wanted him to tell them all about how they found the lad. Charles told them how Sunday night, as they went to play Miniature Golf, the golf course manager talked to his 'dad' and Mr. Dan about the boy sitting on the bench ever since the morning.
After Charles told his friends how they found the lad, and he was taken to the hospital, he told them how Kyle befriended the ten-year-old and kept going over to talk to him. The pre-teen told his buds that he decided to go over last night along with Kevin and Kyle to visit Matthew. Then, he explained how the boy's mom and her boyfriend came to the hospital to possibly take him away. Charles added Mr. Ken noticed their car and called hospital security and the Sheriff's Deputies and they all got ready to capture them. It was as Charles was about to finish his story that the first bell rang, and they all had to go into their homerooms.
Mr. Ken settled down after talking to Dan. He felt he was so far behind on all his endeavors that he closed his Study door, so he wouldn't be disturbed. The owner of The Cove needed to start focusing on his amusement parks, and the Four Corners apartments he would start building after the Holidays. He also was interested in acquiring another amusement park that was floundering and he wanted to go visit it and see if it was worth adding to his small holdings.
On top of those few things that were at the forefront of his mind, he had his manufacturing plant on the back of his mind, as well. He knew they were experimenting on a unique method that affluent people could use to check on or track where their children were, but not necessarily what they were saying.
The idea behind the device was also to find them, or anyone who had the device, if they were kidnapped or went missing. Mr. Ken envisioned the device would use satellites to search for the person in possession of the device when given a password command.
The unique thing they were experimenting on with the device, was that it be small enough so it could be incorporated into anything the person wanted it in. The device's size was being worked on and for now, as long as it was inserted into something like the size of a silver dollar, or a belt buckle, a wallet, shoe heel or something in that size range, it would work. He had hoped he could get the first 100 experimental samples before Thanksgiving. He wanted to give them to his boys and their best friends and have them be his first test subjects.
After lunch, the twins were out in the schoolyard telling their story. There were a few more kids there than this morning, but Kyle didn't mind. He asked them to hold their questions until the end. Then he started. The younger twin told the assembled crowd about him, Kevin and Charles going over to the hospital to visit Matthew, then how Mr. Ken came into the boy's room and had them all move to a different part of the floor.
Kyle continued with how they all looked out of the Visitor‘s Lounge window to see all the police cars blocking all the entrances and exits at the hospital. The young twin told his classmates how this car tried to get through the blockade by driving over a curb and through the grass median and attempted to get away. As he continued his story, Kyle's voice became more serious and hyped as he told them how two police cars then chased the vehicle and got it stopped. He added that the two Sheriff Deputies got out of their vehicles and ordered the occupants out of their vehicle at gunpoint.
Kyle was getting into telling the story and he was using his arms to add motion to his telling and bring the listeners into his story. As the lad resumed his story, he described how three more police cars came rushing to the first two and they all watched as three Deputies jumped out of their cars, pointing their guns at the man and woman. Kyle told how one officer handcuffed the occupants and then patted them down, one person at a time, then placed each of them into different vehicles.
Kevin added, "It was really neat to be looking down at what was happening out on the street. The police cars all had their emergency lights on and the blue and red lights lit up the area. You should have seen how all that commotion the police cars made with their lights flashing drew people to gather around and watch what was happening.
"We've all seen it, or something like it, on TV, in newscasts and shows, but last night ... we actually saw what it looked like from the third-floor window. It was awesome."
Then the questions began. The kids who were there at the first aborted telling, asked again how Mr. Ken had worked with Lt. Dan to find pictures on the security cameras at the miniature golf course and go-kart track. Kevin told them that practically every business has security cameras and their'dad' and Lt. Dan went over to see if there was anything on those they could use to identify who dropped Matthew off.
Then, someone asked how Mr. Ken knew the people were outside the hospital. Kevin told them Mr. Ken recognized the vehicle and the license tag from the pictures they took off the security cameras and immediately had the hospital security notified and then he called Lt. Dan to tell him what he saw.
Someone asked how their new friend handled all the action outside the hospital where he was being treated. Neither twin had an answer to that question. They told the group they never thought to ask the boy that, but even if they had, they knew it was not the time to ask him.
Then, one lad asked what would happen to Matthew. Kyle told him that Ms. Judy, the lady who ran CPS, was the boy's case-worker and she would find a good foster home for him when he is ready to be released from the hospital.
The kids had gotten into the telling of the story and were still curious, so they asked how old Matthew was, why he was left at the miniature golf place, did he have any clothes, any money and, lastly, they wanted to know how he was found.
Charles had seen all the kids circled around the twins, so he told his buddies he was going over to check on what the twins were up to. When the pre-teen approached the large group, he heard all the questions the kids were asking the twins. Kyle told his friends that Matthew was 10 years old, that he was just sitting on the bench, had no extra clothes and no money.
Kevin told the group that the Matthew hadn't eaten all day and when Mr. Ken got Robert to buy him a hotdog and coke, he ate it down fast. The older twin added that their new friend had been beaten and his back looked bad. That's when Charles stepped in.
"Guys, gals ... ahh, Kevin and Kyle shouldn't have told you that much about Matthew. That is private, personal information that should never have gotten out. I would ask you all to forget that you know that much. I know you wouldn't want any of your personal stuff about you getting out on the schoolyard, so please, for Matthew's sake, just forget that. OK?" finished Charles.
Charles asked the kids to move along, so he could talk to this 'brothers'. When they were alone, the pre-teen told them that Matthew will be in the foster care system when he gets out of the hospital, and anything personal that he does not tell anyone is supposed to stay that way.
"I know you guys have never been in foster care, so you didn't know. Guys, you have to be very careful about what you say about people to other people. You two know a lot about Robert and me, and you've been really good not to tell anyone that stuff. Now, we need to add Matthew to that list until he tells us we can. You know, his foster parents might not want that sort of information to get out. It could make the child self-conscious about his injury."
"If a kid has something wrong with him and the bullies learn about it, they could use that against him and make him a target for their brand of harassment. Other kids may stay away from him because they don't want to be around someone who is not as pure as they are. So, try not to tell anyone anything else about Matthew. Can you do that for him?" asked Charles.
"Are you going to tell Mr. Ken ... about what we did?" asked a meek Kevin.
"Kevin, he needs to know, but he won't be mad at you. You didn't know not to talk about his back. But, now that you know, try to remember that if you know something about someone, especially if it has to do with a kid, whether or not he is in foster care, you should keep it to yourself. Of course, if he did something wrong then you have to tell that, but if it is something real personal like Matthew's back, or what happened to me and Robert, you just keep it to yourself," finished the pre-teen. Just then the after lunch bell rang.
It was about 2 o'clock in the afternoon when Mr. Chris came driving into The Cove with the new 12 passenger van. Mr. Ken saw him drive down the slight rise and then turn into the parking corral. The owner of The Cove got his jacket and went out to the corral to go look at his new purchase.
"That's some van you got there Chris," teased Mr. Ken.
"Yep, the length will take some time getting used to driving it, though. It took me a number of turns to get used to the turning radius. But, she handles real good. The van has lots of really good amenities," laughed Chris.
"I like the leather steering wheel, it gives you a good grip. The heater works real nice and so does the one in the back. They will come in handy when you have a gaggle of kids in there with you. Luckily it came with black fabric upholstery. It will make it easier to clean than the leather they offered. Can you imagine a bunch of kids eating burgers and drinking sodas back there and you make a quick stop or fast turn? Eewww," finished a laughing Mr. Chris.
"Mr. Ken, this baby came with all your favorite options. The driver's seat is 6-way power that's heated and includes seat angle adjustment and lumbar support. And the windshield has the shade band on it that will definitely help with the low-angled sun in the fall and spring. The overhead Control Panel adds a nice touch and the steering wheel is multifunctional. By-the-way, the passenger seat is the same as the driver's seat, 6-way power, and is also heated."
"On the exterior, the van has a rearview camera, an audible backup alarm, exterior mirrors that are power operated and heated and it has a trailer hitch and is pre-wired for use with a trailer. The safety plus package comes with blind spot monitoring, collision prevention assist, light and rain sensors, lane keeping assist, high beam assist, and much, much more."
"Boss, the interior is very roomy. People will be able to stand up with its 6'3" height. The van is 70 inches wide so there is plenty of room to sit, with generous legroom for your passengers. The rear seating also has individual headrests that will give your passengers a comfortable seat and whiplash protection if you are ever in a major accident. The rear area has air conditioning, too, in conjunction with the heater.
"There is a lot to learn about this Beast, Mr. Ken. Most of the standard accessories are self-explanatory, as are the additional options that this baby comes with. The salesman went through the entire van with me, which is why it took me so long to get back here. I know you're going to love this Mercedes, Mr. Ken. I know I enjoyed driving it," finished Mr. Chris.
Mr. Ken took the keys and went for a drive in the neighborhood to see what Chris meant about the handling and the turning ratio. As he drove, he checked out the luxury driver's seat and all its power options. He noticed there was a navigation package that Chris hadn't mentioned and knew he needed to read the manual to learn all about it.
When the owner of The Cove returned to his estate, he was pleased he had bought the van. It was a bit long, but he knew if he had 8 kids, and all their stuff in the cargo area, they would all be comfortable. Before he turned off the motor, he stopped in the middle of the parking corral and decided to back the van up to check out the rear backup camera. He was pleased with the large viewing area and the backup alarm beeping. He decided to stay in the vehicle and read the manual.
When the boys came home from school, they saw the new van sitting in the parking corral and they just had to go over to it to check it out. When they opened the sliding side door, the boys were startled to see their' dad' sitting in the driver's seat reading something.
"Oh, hello, boys, is it that late already? So ... how do you like the new ride?" laughed 'dad' Ken.
"This is just like the one Mr. Wayne drove us around in during the weekend you went away," said Kevin. "It sure is nice, too. Look at all that room in the back."
The four boys climbed into the van and they had to check out all the seats. They loved that they could stand straight up whereas the one that Mr. Wayne used, wasn't as roomy. As they continued to check the van out, Kyle found the window sticker and read it. His eyes got very big when he looked at the cost of the van.
"Ahh, 'dad', ahh ... did you ... did you pay $59,963.00 for this van?" asked a cautious Kyle.
"No, 'son'," laughed 'dad' Ken. "That's the window sticker price. That's what the manufacturer suggests the vehicle should cost. You'll see there is a list of the standard features on one side and on the other, is a list of the additional installed equipment. That gives you an idea of what extras they've installed."
"Yeah, but the price, it seems to be a lot. I can't even visualize how much money that is," replied Kyle.
"Yeah, dad, can you tell us what you did pay for it?" asked Robert.
"Well, first, you start with the cost listed there. Then, you factor in your trade-in. In this case, I traded in the Lincoln Navigator and they gave me a good trade-in value. That helped reduce the cost of the van. On top of that you dicker, err, you haggle over the price. They have a price they have to get in order to make a profit, and of course, they want to make as much on the van as they can."
"On the other side, you, as the buyer, want to pay the least amount of money you can. So, you talk it out, you dicker/haggle, and you come to an agreement. In this case, since I paid cash for the van, they gave me an even better deal," explained Mr. Ken.
"So, dad ... are you ... going ... to ... tell ... us ... how much you actually paid?" timidly asked his new son.
Mr. Ken smiled at the question, then said, "I paid, after the trade in, and all the haggling, and the extra taken off for a cash deal ... a little over thirty-five thousand five hundred dollars. Not a bad deal, huh?"
The boys were speechless. They thought that was way too much, and they told him so. But, Mr. Ken told them the price may sound high to them, but at the end of the day, if you feel good about the deal, then it was a good deal. The lads then asked if they could go for a ride.
"If I knew you were going to ask me that, then I would have talked to Momma. But if you guys stay out here much longer, I wouldn't blame her if she got out that big spoon after you because you aren't in there eating your after-school snack," teased 'dad' Ken.
The lads quickly exited the van and ran into the house. They apologized to Momma Maria for being late, and she told them she knew they were out looking at the new van and checking it out. They all had a good laugh.
After dinner, the Covers headed to the Study to talk. It was there that Charles told his 'dad' what happened out on the schoolyard. The twins hung their heads, at the telling, thinking 'Dad Ken' was going to yell and scream at them.
"Boys ... do you understand what Charles was explaining to you?" casually asked Mr. Ken.
The twins were shocked that Mr. Ken wasn't yelling and screaming at them. That's what their real dad would have done. They did their 'twin talk' and it was then they remembered that they were told that Mr. Ken doesn't get mad, he just gets disappointed at their choices.
"Mr. Ken, we're sorry for talking about Matthew's personal medical condition. We were telling our friends about what we saw last night and we just weren't thinking. I wish one of you would have told us about not saying some things," said a teary-eyed Kyle.
"Hey, don't put this back on us, Kyle," loudly spoke Charles. "We didn't know you guys were such blabbermouths!"
"Charles that will be enough. Boys, as Charles explained to you at school, you really didn't know not to talk about other people's personal information. But you two need to think, from now on, what you're going to say before you say it. The saying goes, 'loose lips, sink ships'. What that means is you shouldn't tell things that are 'need to know only' because the things you tell could hurt the person more than you could ever know," counseled 'dad' Ken.
"You're not going to yell at us?" asked Kevin.
"Why should I? I think I told you before ... you'd remember the yelling and not what I was trying to get across to you. Now, I believe you guys all have homework to finish. Hurry up and finish it and then we'll go out for a ride in the new van," said 'dad' Ken, trying to defuse the yelling. He wanted to calm the twins down enough so they would remember, the next time, not to talk about anyone else's personal information.
It was close to 7:30 PM when the Cover lads had finished their homework. The four boys headed down to the Study to ask their 'dad' to take them out for a ride in the new Mercedes van. They all grabbed their coats and headed out to the parking corral. Robert called 'shotgun', so he got the front seat in the new vehicle. Mr. Ken drove out the Main Gate and turned to go over to Four Corners. He kiddingly told them they still needed to play that round of mini-golf from last Sunday.
The miniature golf course wasn't all that busy for a Friday night, as many people were at the local high school football stadiums watching their boys play football. When they finished their game, Mr. Ken headed over to the Dairy Queen, so they could get some soft serve ice cream.'Dad' Ken reminded the boys that they've been eating way too much ice cream, so they could only get a medium cup or cone. Even Chief got a medium cup of vanilla ice cream when the Covers returned home.
When the Covers returned home, the lads went up to their bedrooms and Mr. Ken headed to his Study to check for any phone messages. He saw the light blinking, so he listened to what the callers had to say. Of the three messages, two he decided could wait until tomorrow. The third one was from Judy, so he made a quick call.
"Hey, Judy, just returning your call," said Ken, when Judy answered the phone.
"Hey, Ken, I understand you have a new Mercedes van that will hold twelve people. Wow, I'm jealous," teased Judy.
"Yeah, right, like you need a 12-passenger van for the two of you," laughed Ken.
"It's the thought of having something that new," laughed Judy. "I know I should get myself a new car, but I only use it around here so ... so why spend the money? Now, if I traveled all over the state, then I definitely would have to get a new car. So, tell me. How does it drive?" continued Judy Turner.
The two friends talked for a few minutes more about a whole bunch of things. Of course, they got back around to talking some more about the new van. Ken told her that's what they'll be using to drive down to Collin's for Thanksgiving, and a little R&R. Ken asked Judy if she thought any more about accompanying him and the boys to visit his amusement parks.
Judy told him she had, and that she had gotten to thinking and then asked Ken if he ever thought about leaving that Saturday after the kids got out of school for the Holidays. Ken quickly got out a calendar and looked at it to see what Judy was talking about. The man saw what Judy was talking about, but he told her that although it was a good suggestion, it wouldn't work.
He told her he already planned that Friday night for his neighborhood Christmas Party, and then that Saturday for his major Christmas Party for all the important people in the community and county. Mr. Ken also told her that he'd need all the time he could get before Christmas, because he'll probably still be out buying Christmas presents for the four young men he now has living with him and Chief.
Judy told him he has all the time before that day to buy those kids their presents, but then she said she had forgotten that he hosts his Christmas parties around then and that many people look forward to them now as the beginning of their Christmas Holidays. The two adults talked about The Cove's Holiday Parties and how Ken was going to integrate the boys into them.
As they talked about the lads, Ken eventually got around to telling Judy what Kevin revealed at school about Matthew. He filled her in on what Charles told the boys, and what he tried to reinforce in the lads to not talk about personal information about anyone. Ken explained to Judy he wanted to make sure that when she finds a good foster home for the lad, they were aware that Matthew's medical problem might already be out. Judy thanked Ken for that piece of information
The conversation began to settle down, as if they were beginning to feel their long day catching up to them. Then, Judy got serious.
"Ken ... I need to ask you for a really ... really ... BIG favor. I hope you and your Cover lads can help me out!"
A Note from the Author:
That's it, the final chapter of The Twins story.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about The Twins, as much as I had in writing about them. Now that it has concluded, I would greatly appreciate all of your comments on the story's development and what you liked and didn't like about my story. A writer can't improve unless you tell him your thoughts.
Also, if you know of any 'problems' within the story, where I may have messed up with anything, then please drop me a line. That way I can fix where I messed up for the next generation of readers.
It was a lot of fun writing about The Twins. I had to come up with separate scenarios for both Kevin and Kyle and their new friends as well. As I did that, I had to integrate them into The Cove with Mr. Ken and their two older 'brothers'. If you think that was easy, remember, I also had to bring all of the Cover's friends into the story, as well. Phew!
Now that you think you know who the next story is all about, I hope you will continue to follow along and find out who the next story of Three Finger Cove is really about.
Thank you again for reading my stories. I appreciate your emails and I hope you will continue to send them on. I now ask you to continue to watch The Story Lover's Home, for the announcement of when the next story is to begin.
ChowHound
Comments are encouraged and appreciated. Just use the email address listed at the top of the page.